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2012-11-16, 05:26 PM (ISO 8601)Firbolg in the Playground
- Join Date
- Jun 2009
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Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
Now that my entry is finally er, finalized, it's time for the mad dash to see if I can format it and submit it by tomorrow night's deadline!
EDIT: Submitted!
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2012-11-17, 07:00 PM (ISO 8601)Firbolg in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2006
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
And now, it's time for the reveal! Please avoid posting in this thread until I give the all-clear. Thanks.
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2012-11-17, 07:03 PM (ISO 8601)Firbolg in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2006
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
Made with genuine Shadowsteel.
1. Making Plans
I laughed. “Doctor Mallory? The mad chirurgeon? You’re telling me that Mad Mallory is an assassin?”
Charlene scowled at me. “Yes,” she said darkly, “and if you don’t begin taking this job seriously, he’s going to make short work of you.”
“Sorry,” I said, still snickering. “I just - when you told me we were assigned to eliminate our most dangerous threat yet, I thought perhaps you meant perhaps the Blood of Vol. I didn’t expect us to take on a doctor.”
“Antony Mallory is no simple doctor,” she said. “In truth, he worked in a smithy during the Last War, a smithy long thought to be one of Starrin d’Cannith’s secret workshops. We believe he picked up on some of House Cannith’s forbidden artifice. When the Last War ended, he abandoned the forges and opened shop as a chirurgeon, where he could gain an even closer understanding of the human body.”
“Well, that explains his reputation,” I said, chewing my beard. “No wonder he’s such a poor chirurgeon, if he was trained for a hammer and anvil! What was his goal?”
“We believe he is trying to create a hybrid creature - part human, part warforged,” she said, and I shivered. “In fact, if our detective is as good as he claims to be, Mallory has already completed this procedure once - on himself...”
Antony Mallory, a/k/a AM-1468
Spoiler
Human, Sleeping Tiger Monk 2/Shadowcaster 7/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Soul Eater 1
ANTONY MALLORY
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features
1st|Sleeping Tiger Monk 1|+0|+2|+2|+2|Hide 4 ranks, move silently 4 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 4 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 4 ranks, concentration 4 ranks, balance 4 ranks|Improved Unarmed Strike, Weapon Finesse, Master of Poisons, Alertness|Flurry of blows
2nd|Shadowcaster 1|+0|+4|+2|+4|Hide 5 ranks, move silently 5 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 5 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 5 ranks||Fundamentals of shadow, apprentice mysteries
3rd|Shadowcaster 2|+1|+5|+2|+5|Hide 6 ranks, move silently 6 ranks, concentration 5 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 6 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 6 ranks|Path Focus (Ebon Whispers), Craft Wondrous Item|
4th|Shadowcaster 3|+1|+5|+3|+5|Hide 7 ranks, move silently 7 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 6 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 7 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 7 ranks||Umbral sight (darkvision 30 ft.)
5th|Sleeping Tiger Monk 2|+2|+6|+4|+6|Hide 8 ranks, move silently 8 ranks, concentration 7 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 8 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 8 ranks, balance 5 ranks|Improved Initiative|Invisible fist
6th|Shadowcaster 4|+3|+7|+4|+7|Hide 9 ranks, move silently 9 ranks, concentration 8 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 9 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 9 ranks|Craft Magic Arms and Armor|Bonus fundamental
7th|Renegade Mastermaker 1|+3|+9|+4|+9|Hide 10 ranks, move silently 10 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 10 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 10 ranks, use magic device 1 rank||Battlefist, craft master
8th|Renegade Mastermaker 2|+4|+10|+4|+10|Hide 11 ranks, move silently 11 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 11 ranks, use magic device 3 ranks||Battlefist (+1), self-repair
9th|Renegade Mastermaker 3|+5|+10|+5|+10|Hide 12 ranks, move silently 12 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 12 ranks, use magic device 5 ranks|Sun School|Supporting construction
10th|Renegade Mastermaker 4|+6/+1|+11|+5|+11|Hide 13 ranks, move silently 13 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 13 ranks, use magic device 7 ranks||Damage reduction 1/adamantine
11th|Renegade Mastermaker 5|+6/+1|+11|+5|+11|Hide 14 ranks, move silently 14 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 14 ranks, use magic device 9 ranks||Battlefist (+2)
12th|Renegade Mastermaker 6|+7/+2|+12|+6|+12|Hide 15 ranks, move silently 15 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 11 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 15 ranks, use magic device 10 ranks|Darkstalker|
13th|Renegade Mastermaker 7|+8/+3|+12|+6|+12|Hide 16 ranks, move silently 16 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 12 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 16 ranks, use magic device 11 ranks||Embed component
14th|Renegade Mastermaker 8|+9/+4|+13|+6|+13|Hide 17 ranks, move silently 17 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 13 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 17 ranks, use magic device 12 ranks||Damage reduction 2/adamantine
15th|Renegade Mastermaker 9|+9/+4|+13|+7|+13|Hide 18 ranks, move silently 18 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 14 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 18 ranks, use magic device 13 ranks|Weapon Focus (Battlefist)|Battlefist (+3)
16th|Renegade Mastermaker 10|+10/+5|+14|+7|+14|Hide 19 ranks, move silently 19 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 15 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 19 ranks, use magic device 14 ranks|Improved Fortification|Construct exemplar
17th|Soul Eater 1|+11/+6/+1|+16|+9|+16|Hide 20 ranks, move silently 20 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 15 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 20 ranks, use magic device 14.5 ranks||Energy drain 1
18th|Shadowcaster 5|+11/+6/+1|+16|+9|+16|Hide 21 ranks, move silently 21 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 16 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 21 ranks, use magic device 15 ranks|Extend Mystery, Snap Kick|Sustaining shadow (eat 1 meal/week)
19th|Shadowcaster 6|+12/+7/+2|+17|+10|+17|Hide 22 ranks, move silently 22 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 18 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 22 ranks||
20th|Shadowcaster 7|+12/+7/+2|+17|+10|+17|Hide 23 ranks, move silently 23 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 20 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 23 ranks||[/table]
Stats:
Spoiler
Starting Stats (32-point buy): Str 8/Dex 16/Con 14/Int 14/Wis 8/Cha 16
Level boosts: All boosts go to Charisma. Craft or purchase a +4 Headband of Intellect before the highest levels to guarantee the ability to cast your Master Path mysteries. If that is not going to be an option in your campaign, consider instead putting your level boosts into Intelligence.
Mysteries:
Spoiler
Fundamentals (at-will): Black Candle, Arrow of Dusk, Sight Obscured, Umbral Hand, Caul of Shadow, Widened Eyes
Supernatural Mysteries (3/day): Life Fades, Voice of Shadow, Steel Shadows, Congress of Shadows, Flicker (x2)
Spell-like Mysteries (2/day): Bolster (x2), Shadow Vision, Curtain of Shadows, Unveil, Step into Shadow
Spell Mysteries (1/day): Truth Revealed, Dark Soul, Soul Puppet
Level by level mystery progression:
Spoiler
2- Black Candle, Arrow of Dusk, Sight Obscured, Life Fades
3- Voice of Shadow
4- Steel Shadows
6- Umbral Hand, Congress of Shadows
8- Flicker
9- Flicker
10- Bolster
11- Caul of Shadow, Shadow Vision
12- Curtain of Shadow
14- Bolster
15- Unveil
16- Widened Eyes, Step into Shadow
18- Dark Soul
19- Truth Revealed
20- Soul Puppet
Suggested Items:
Spoiler
AM-1468 needs few items beyond his own body to succeed. He can provide many enhancements to his physical form himself, such as enhancing his battlefist with the spell-storing enchantment. However, here are a few additional items that might help.
Stat boosters are always appreciated. In particular, AM-1468 would look toward items that boost his Dexterity, Charisma and Intelligence.
Anything that boosts his stealth is also nice. Essence of the Scout (ECS) is especially handy, giving a +15 competence bonus to each with the greater version for a relatively low cost. If available, a Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis would also not go amiss.
Wands can further increase AM-1468's utility, and should be easily activated via UMD. An embedded wand sheath (ECS) is similarly useful.
Finally, augment crystals (MIC) can also be used on his battlefist to provide situational bonuses. For example, the Lesser Truedeath crystal can aid against incorporeal enemies, while the Fiendslayer crystal can add a dimensional anchor effect to prevent targets from escaping.
USER MANUAL
Spoiler
This leather-bound book is old and heavily stained with what appears to be dried blood. The first dozen pages appear to be some sort of diary of progress, written by noted chirurgeon Antony Mallory. As the pages progress, the entries appear more and more sporadic. The last several pages of this “diary” are scratched out, followed by the words “USER MANUAL” in a heavy, mechanical hand.
Combat Maneuvers
SECTION 1: DEFENSIVE MANEUVERS
1.1 (Teleportation Unit)
1.1.1 - It is highly recommended that the short-range teleportation unit be activated prior to any combat maneuvers. This is set to a neural switch, so that it may be activated immediately and in response to any threats. This unit can remain active for intervals of 2.5 minutes; during this time, the same neural switch can be pressed to immediately teleport a short distance (see section 2.1, Attack Sequences, for more details). Studies indicate that activating this neural switch in response to a threat closing to melee range is effective in stopping the majority of short range attacks, and can be combined with the first attack sequence (sec. 2.1).
1.1.2 - If longer range teleportation is necessary, manually activate the unit. This allows for distances of up to 960 feet, and if desired, you may extend its range to cover any allies or hostages present.
1.1.3 - The same teleporation unit can be used for long-range communication. The range on this device is 15 miles when used in this fashion.
(The Flicker mystery, which is useable six times per day as a (Su) ability, allows for teleportation of up to 35’ each round as an immediate action. This is used both defensively to avoid attacks, and offensively via Sun School. As it is an immediate action, it can be used outside of AM-1468’s turn, meaning he can spend his turn moving and casting as normal, then flicker and attack either before his turn starts again or in response to an attack. He also has access to Step into Shadow twice a day, which acts as dimension door. And if he needs to communicate at long range, Congress of Shadows allows him to send and receive a short message up to 15 miles away.)
1.2 (Recovery)
1.2.1 - The modifications made to the nervous system have resulted in a deadening of the sensation of pain, allowing for a minor resistance to damage. As an unintended but welcome side effect, this eliminates many of the “pressure spots” located throughout the body, providing a line of defense against targeted attacks.
1.2.2 - Activating a power surge greatly increases endurance, lasting 2.3 hours increasing your capacity to take damage by approximately 60% with each use. The power stored allows for four of these surges per day.
1.2.3 - If your temporary store of strength via the power surge is depleted, you may direct power from some of the other units to restore the body itself. This will prevent their use, and should only be used in case of emergency. For typical repairs, an auxiliary method is instead recommended.
1.2.4 - If you or an ally is experiencing negative conditions, temporarily overloading the mental circuits is suggested. This will remove the following conditions (listed in A-alpha order): ability damage / blinded / confused / cursed / dazed / dazzled / deafened / diseased / exhausted / fatigued / immobilized / insanity / nauseated / sickened / stunned / poisoned.
(AM-1468 has several powerful methods of recovery. In addition to damage reduction and improved fortification, he may use the Bolster mystery four times per day, each use granting him a whopping 75 temporary hit points, lasting 140 minutes. He can also channel his higher level mysteries to recover his own HP, or activate wands of repair damage. Finally, the Unveil mystery removes a huge suite of negative conditions on himself or an ally.)
1.3 (Defensive Boosters)
1.3.1 - Traditional armor plating is not recommended, as it interferes with offensive functions. Two shadow-based units have instead been developed. These create armor and shields that protect the user without inhibiting them.
(Steel Shadows gives a +3 armor bonus and a +3 shield bonus, while Caul of Shadow provides a +4 deflection bonus. AM-1468 can Steel Shadows up for 14 hours total with a Rod of Extend, and Caul of Shadows is usable at-will and so can be kept up permanently. Neither of these interfere with AM-1468’s monk abilities.)
1.4 (Stealth and Perception Devices)
1.4.1 - Embedding the scouting unit greatly increases stealth capabilities. To augment these abilities, use your shadow mechanisms to adjust the ambient light available and obscure your position.
1.4.2 - Umbral lenses have been installed, allowing your vision to operate under any lighting condition. If facing an unseen enemy, activate your infrared sensors, which will see through any magical interference.
1.4.3 - Infrared sensors can also be focused to reveal additional information on targets, including surface thoughts, magical auras, fears and loved ones. Use this ability to identify weak spots or obtain hidden information.
(By creating and embedding an Essence of the Scout unit, AM-1468 has exceptionally high scores in Hide and Move Silently. He can also use Sight Obscured at will to add an additional +5, and Black Candle to create either darkness or light. On the perception end of things, umbral sight and widened eyes gives AM-1468 the ability to see under any lighting condition, while Truth Revealed grants him true seeing, which can be focused to duplicate any of the detect spells, including detect thoughts, to discern lies, find out someone’s recent actions, or reveal their greatest love and fear.)
SECTION 2: OFFENSIVE MANEUVERS
2.1 (Attack Sequences)
2.1.1 - Most major attack sequences, including the battlefist (sec. 2.2), are keyed in to activate alongside the teleportation unit. This allows for swift, harrying attacks intended to keep the target off-guard.
2.1.2 - All physical attacks, including the battlefist (sec. 2.2), are designed to debilitate rather than outright damage. The body will maintain a charge of shadow energy, which will weaken targets upon contact.
2.1.3 - It is imperative that targets are constantly kept off guard. As the attack sequence can occur at unexpected intervals, time can otherwise be spent finding otherwise to harry and confuse targets (sec. 2.3).
(Sun School combined with Flicker and Step into Shadow means that each round, AM-1468 can hide, buff himself, lay down battlefield control, or otherwise attack. Then, as an immediate action (usually in response to movement or an attack), he can Flicker and make two attacks. These attacks will deal a relatively small amount of damage, but will carry with them a whole suite of negative effects, including level drain from Soul Eater, contact poison, multiple touch spells, and more.)
2.2 (Battlefist)
2.2.1 - The battlefist is the primary offensive unit. It is constructed entirely of inorganic material, making it less vulnerable than many other units. However, it still carries the same charge of shadow energy that the rest of the body has (sec. 2.1.2).
2.2.2 - The battlefist may powered up with other offensive abilities, as circumstances require. Due to the nature of its construction, it may be powered with up to two such effects at once.
2.2.3 - When dealing with targets with vulnerabilities to them, organic poisons can be applied to the battlefist to debilitate them.
2.2.4 - Auxiliary modifications should be kept at hand to further assist the battlefist’s functionality. These modifications are maintained in crystal form, and designed for easy installation and use.
(AM-1468 has enhanced his battlefist with the spell storing enhancement, a +1 enhancement that AM-1468 can create himself at ECL 15, or that he can pay someone else to add earlier. He can use this to charge up his battlefist with targeted mysteries. At a minimum, his at-will Arrow of Dusk can always be used to add some additional damage. Also, he has several touch-range mysteries, which he can cast in advance and hold the charge. Since his battlefist is both a manufactured weapon (and therefore a legal target for spell storing) and also a natural weapon, striking someone with it can hit them with up to four effects - poison, the stored mystery, the held touch spell, and a negative level from Soul Eater. Finally, AM-1468 carries around weapon crystals to apply as needed to his battlefist.)
2.3 (Other Attacks)
2.3.1 - As containing targets is often paramount, a caging unit has been developed that converts shadow energy into a more stable form, which can be used as a barrier. While this barrier is still permeable, it blocks light and can be used to contain or seal off, causing damage to any who attempt to pierce it.
2.3.2 - It is possible to channel energy to directly impair an enemy’s vision. This can either be used at range or channeled through the battlefist (sec. 2.2). As the eyes are a particularly vulnerable spot on most targets, this is an effective way to weaken stronger enemies. It also can function as a quick escape, as it conceals you from your target’s vision.
2.3.3 - Using electrical impulses, it is possible to bypass an enemy’s neural functioning completely, allowing us to control an enemy’s musculature from afar. A limited form of this can be used at range on a number of enemies, although control must be reestablished constantly. A more powerful form can be channeled through the battlefist, which allows complete control over the target for approximately one month.
(There are a number of other powerful attacks AM-1468 has access to, most of which can be channeled through the battlefist. Curtain of Shadows is a shapeable wall, blocking line of sight and dealing 15d6 damage to all who pass through. Shadow Vision gives a -4 penalty to most checks and conceals AM-1468 from his target’s vision. Dark Soul lasts for one round/level and allows AM-1468 to spend a standard action to force an enemy to attack whatever is closest (he prefers to use this from hiding early on). Soul Puppet acts as dominate monster, and can be extended to last for up to a month of complete control.)
2. First Contact
I pushed my way into the chirurgeon’s shop. It was dark, but I could see a low red gleam toward the back. I made my way to it.
“Hello, there,” said a harsh voice. I started. “I apologize for the state of things here. Always so much to do, and so little time to clean up...”
“Where are you?” I was looking all around, but could not see the source of the voice in the dim. “I can’t see anything in here!”
“My apologies,” said the voice. “I work better in the dark, and sometimes it is easy to forget that others do not share my... aptitude... with the shadows. Allow me to remedy the situation.”
With that, the workshop was suddenly illuminated, although I could see no lamp or lantern. The shop was indeed messy, littered with paper and cruel-looking instruments. Jars of specimens lined the back wall. But most gruesome of all was the doctor.
He was wearing a chirurgeon’s frock of a muddy brown color, heavily stained. His face was deeply lined and covered in scars, and his right eye was gone completely, replaced instead with a lens of some sort. The lens glowed a deep red. His right hand had long, spidery fingers, which were currently holding a scalpel over what appeared to be a cat. His left hand was something else entirely - bulky and metallic, and covered in harsh spikes.
“Now, my friend,” he said, still focusing on his cat. “Tell me what ails you, and I will see what I can do.”
“Actually,” I said, “it’s not what, it’s who. I came here because I’d heard you can make people, erm, disappear.”
He looked at me hard, his right eye glinting. “Close the door,” he said, and I did. “Truth be told, I would prefer to never have to take on such work, but my... experiments... can be costly, and a chirurgeon not of House Jorasco is hard pressed to find good, paying work. Now, sit down.”
“Thank you, Doctor Mallory,” I said. I moved a pile of scrolls off a wooden stool and sat.
“I prefer AM-1468 these days. Antony Mallory is so tragically human, don’t you agree? Convential names define a person’s past: ancestry, house, location, religion. I am not who I was ten years ago, and certainly not who I will be in twenty years. The name 1468 reflects my conviction that the year 1468 will be a magical time, a time when such collective identity is no longer necessary.”
“The year 1468?” I was confused. This job was not going at all as planned. “But... that’s ages away! What does that have to do with you?”
“Aye, ages away. Five hundred years after my birth, if you must know. But I fully plan to see that year’s dawn. 1468 is a dream and a goal, a reminder to myself that I shall never die...”
Snapshots
Spoiler
LEVEL 5: Human, Sleeping Tiger Monk 2/Shadowcaster 3
At these levels, AM-1468 plays more like a rogue than anything else. His maxed out stealth skills become even better when combined with Sight Obscured. His primary form of offense is his crossbow, which he uses to deliver poisoned bolts to enemies. He also generally pre-casts Life Fades and holds the charge, so he can strike anyone nearby with an unarmed attack and add on extra damage and fatigue. Steel Shadows and an excellent dexterity keeps his defenses up without compromising his stealth.
LEVEL 10: Human, Sleeping Tiger Monk 2/Shadowcaster 4/Renegade Mastermaker 4
In addition to general utility, including much easier crafting of poisons and several healing abilities, the following five levels completely change AM-1468's tactics.
First of all, his main combo, Flicker + Sun School, comes online. Flicker is like abrupt jaunt on steroids - every round, he can teleport as an immediate action. With Sun School, he can also deliver an attack at the end of that action. The battlefist is also key. Being both a natural and manufactured weapon, he can deliver touch spells with it and also cover use it to deliver poison. So, he holds the charge on a Life Fades, then as an immediate action, he teleports next to someone and strikes them with his battlefist, both poisoning and fatiguing them.
The other big addition here is Bolster. This adds on up to a whopping 50 temporary HP every time he uses it at these levels. That significantly increases his endurance.
LEVEL 15: Human, Sleeping Tiger Monk 2/Shadowcaster 4/Renegade Mastermaker 9
A lot of AM-1468's abilities continue to progress in these levels. He picks up several new defensive abilities, including damage reduction from Renegade Mastermaker and deflection from Caul of Shadow. He can also begin embedding components, including the Essence of the Scout, which he builds himself and uses to boost his stealth potential (alongside Darkstalker, which nabs at level 12). Oh, and he gets more uses of Bolster (which now provides up to 75 temporary HP) and the powerful Unveil, which gets rid of just about any negative effect in the game.
He also gets a couple of new offensive mysteries, but the biggest thing is that he is now a high enough level to enchant his battlefist with the spell-storing enhancement. Now his immediate-action strikes can deliver three effects - poison, a stored mystery, and a held charge from a touch spell.
LEVEL 20: Living Construct, Sleeping Tiger Monk 2/Shadowcaster 7/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Soul Eater 1
Once AM-1468 completes his conversion from human to construct, his power goes up exponentially. His defenses are much better, and he is immune to precision damage and critical hits. He can also coat more than just his battlefist in poison now.
But there are two particularly huge power boosts: Soul Eater and the master level mysteries. Soul Eater lets him add a fourth debuff on his strikes, a negative level. His master mysteries give him an improved divination spell that acts as true seeing, detect thoughts, detect magic, detect alignment and more, all rolled together, plus a dominate monster effect (which can be channeled through his battlefist) and a third mystery that lets him force allies to attack each other.
On the Use of Renegade Mastermaker
Spoiler
Renegade Mastermaker seems like a poor choice for a "caster" style build, as it loses two caster levels. However, it provides many powerful options here, making AM-1468 far stronger than the typical shadowcaster.
The biggest boost is the battlefist. It is unique in counting as both a manufactured and natural weapon, allowing it to be enhanced with augment crystals, enchanted with abilities like spell-storing and coated in poison, while still being able to deliver held touch spells. It also counts as a natural weapon for Soul Eater.
The boost to craft is also much appreciated, giving a +10 bonus to two of AM-1468's key skills.
Self-repair and supporting construction both add two healing abilities that the build otherwise lacks, and they combine well with Bolster to make a surprisingly sturdy skirmisher. Similarly, the damage reduction also boosts endurance.
Embedded components are especially nice for AM-1468 because he cannot wear armor, meaning he does not have access to some of the best Hide/Move Silently boosters in the game (Shadow and Silent Moves armor and their hefty +15 bonus). A greater essence of the scout can be embedded for an equivalent bonus to both checks. Other embedded components are useful (see the Items section), but the essence of the scout is particularly handy.
Finally, Construct Exemplar further boosts both offense and defense - those excellent warforged immunities (which can be used to deliver poison with the Snap Kick that follows up the initial Flicker attack) along with the bonus feat for Improved Fortification. And, even more important, it provides access to the Soul Eater prestige class by changing AM-1468's type to construct.
All of these benefits, alongside a stronger chassis (including a better BAB, better skills and access to UMD), make this more than a fair trade for accepting two fewer master mysteries.
3. Failure
“I hate to be gauche,” said Doctor Mallory, “but I would prefer half of my payment up front. Collections is such a sticky matter, and I would much prefer to avoid it.”
“Of course,” I said. I fumbled in my bag, pretending to search for coin. My heart was pounding as I closed my hands around the dagger. If I could get one shot in, one shot to put him off his guard, I knew I could finish him.
I pulled out the dagger and flung it toward the doctor. I had just enough time to see his smile, and then he vanished, flickering out of existence like a candle.
Just as suddenly, I felt a metal fist thud against my head from somewhere behind me, followed by a hard kick to the back of my knees. I staggered - surely two such blows could not debilitate me so quickly? But I felt my lifeforce draining, as though it was being sucked away.
The metal hand closed around my throat, and the terrible feeling of draining increased. “Naughty, naughty,” the doctor whispered into my ear. “Didn’t I tell you? I shall never die. Now,” he went on, and suddenly I could feel a powerful energy flowing through his fist, and hear his voice in my head, commanding me to obey. “Now, perhaps you ought to tell me who sent you...”
Rules Clarifications:
Spoiler
1. How does AM-1468 qualify for Craft Wondrous Item with only two levels in shadowcaster, or Craft Magic Arms & Armor with only four?
Path Focus (Ebon Whispers) not only boosts the DC of the Ebon Whispers line, it also boosts its caster level. This lets AM-1468 qualify for the feats at the appropriate time.
2. How can AM-1468 qualify for Soul Eater, which requires being a non-humanoid?
3. Are you sure held touch spells can be delivered with a battlefist and alongside stored spells like that?
Originally Posted by Amphetryon
Given the verbiage about qualifying as a Warforged, you take on the Construct (Living Construct) type, just as they have. Originally Posted by Query
Yes. The relevant rules from the SRD are as follows:
As the battlefist qualifies as a natural weapon, AM-1468 can make an attack with it, activating the stored spell, and also discharging the held touch spell. Originally Posted by SRD
4. Can Flicker really avoid attacks as an immediate action?
Yes and no. Flicker provides immediate action teleportation each round. If this is used to avoid an attack, there is a 50% chance of the attack still being successful. This still prevents a full attack, and gives a decent chance of missing that first hit. However, there are ways to make this work even better. The first is to simply flicker in response to an opponent's movement, rather than in response to an attack. If you flicker outside of their range when they move to close, there isn't even a 50% chance of being hit. The second is to stack on more miss chances. Simply activating your Black Candle mystery, which you use at-will, will give you a 20% miss chance due to concealment on top of your 50% chance. Alternatively, the Shadow Vision mystery gives you complete concealment from a single enemy.
5. Does the Soul Eater's negative level require an action?
The verbiage on Soul Eater's level drain simply says that the touch of the Soul Eater causes level drain. As the Soul Eater appears to be modeled after the draining slams of vampires and similar creatures, this makes sense. However, many DMs will instead rule that this is a separate touch attack to drain a level.
If that is the case, the attack sequence still works, but it must be re-ordered. Instead, make a touch attack to drain a level and discharge any held touch spell. Then, in response to an attack or movement, flicker and hit again, discharging your stored mystery and also hitting them with any injury poison. If this is the case, replacing Snap Kick might be a good idea, since it will not be able to deliver an additional negative level.
Sources:
Spoiler
Tome of Magic:
Shadowcaster (class), all its mysteries, Path Focus & Extend Mystery feats
SRD/Unearthed Arcana:
Sleeping Tiger monk variant
Book of Vile Darkness:
Soul Eater (class)
Magic of Eberron:
Renegade Mastermaker (class)
Complete Warrior:
Sun School feat
Lords of Madness:
Darkstalker feat
Drow of the Underdark:
Master of Poisons feat
Eberron Campaign Setting
Improved Fortification feat, essence of the scout
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2012-11-17, 07:05 PM (ISO 8601)Firbolg in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2006
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
"Thank you very much, o Mr. Roboto, for helping me escape when I needed to" - Styx
Originally Posted by Kilroy
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2012-11-17, 07:09 PM (ISO 8601)Firbolg in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2006
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
You should see the prototype, Laurel.
Originally Posted by Hardy
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2012-11-17, 07:14 PM (ISO 8601)Firbolg in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2006
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
You know "From many, one?" He's the reverse.
Originally Posted by Hezekiah
Hezekiah d'Cannith, Right Hand of the Becoming God
Human Monk 1/Wu Jen 9/Renegade Mastermaker 10
"Bone shall break and flesh may fail, but the 'Forged shall flourish forever!" -Hezekiah 1:25
The Schematic (Hezekiah 1:1-20)
Spoiler{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features|
1Monk 1|+0|+2|+2|+2|Concentration 4, Craft (armor) 4, Know Arcana 4, Know Dungeoneering 2, Know Local 2, Know Nature 2, Know Religion 4, Know Planes 2|Dragonmark Fist, Least Mark of Making, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack|Improved Unarmed Strike, Decisive Strike, Bonus Feat|
2Wu Jen 1|+0|+2|+2|+4|Concentration 4, Craft (armor) 5, Know Arcana 5, Know Dungeoneering 2, Know Local 2, Know Nature 2, Know Religion 5, Know Planes 5, Spellcraft 1, Collector of Stories|Quicken Spell|Watchful Spirit, bonus metamagic feat|
3Wu Jen 2|+1|+2|+2|+5|Concentration 5, Craft (armor) 6, Know Arcana 5, Know Dungeoneering 3, Know Local 3, Know Nature 3, Know Religion 5, Know Planes 5, Spellcraft 1, Collector of Stories|Knowledge Devotion|
4|Wu Jen 3|+1|+3|+3|+5|Concentration 6, Craft (armor) 7, Know Arcana 6, Know Dungeoneering 4, Know Local 4, Know Nature 4, Know Religion 6, Know Planes 5, Spellcraft 1, Collector of Stories||Spell Secret (Extended Alter Self)|
5Wu Jen 4|+2|+3|+3|+6|Concentration 7, Craft (armor) 8, Know Arcana 7, Know Dungeoneering 5, Know Local 5, Know Nature 5, Know Religion 7, Know Planes 5, Spellcraft 1, Collector of Stories||
6|Wu Jen 5|+2|+3|+3|+6|Concentration 8, Craft (armor) 9, Know Arcana 8, Know Dungeoneering 6, Know Local 6, Know Nature 6, Know Religion 8, Know Planes 5, Spellcraft 1, Collector of Stories|Craft Wondrous Item|
7|Wu Jen 6|+3|+4|+4|+7|Concentration 9, Craft (armor) 10, Know Arcana 9, Know Dungeoneering 7, Know Local 7, Know Nature 7, Know Religion 9, Know Planes 5, Spellcraft 1, Collector of Stories||Elemental Mastery|
8Wu Jen 7|+3|+4|+4|+7|Concentration 10, Craft (armor) 11, Know Arcana 10, Know Dungeoneering 8, Know Local 8, Know Nature 8, Know Religion 10, Know Planes 5, Spellcraft 1, Collector of Stories||
9|Wu Jen 8|+4|+4|+4|+8|Concentration 11, Craft (armor) 12, Know Arcana 11, Know Dungeoneering 9, Know Local 9, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 11, Know Planes 5, Spellcraft 1, Collector of Stories|Craft Magic Arms & Armor|
10|Renegade Mastermaker 1|+4|+6|+4|+10|Concentration 12, Craft (armor) 13, Know Arcana 12, Know Dungeoneering 10, Know Local 10, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 11, Know Planes 6, Spellcraft 2, Use Magic Device 1, Collector of Stories||Battlefist, Craft Master|
11Renegade Mastermaker 2|+5|+7|+4|+11|Concentration 13, Craft (armor) 14, Know Arcana 13, Know Dungeoneering 10, Know Local 11, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 11, Know Planes 9, Spellcraft 3, Use Magic Device 2, Collector of Stories||Battlefist (+1), Self-Repair|
12Renegade Mastermaker 3|+6/+1|+7|+5|+11|Concentration 14, Craft (armor) 15, Know Arcana 14, Know Dungeoneering 10, Know Local 12, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 12, Know Planes 10, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 3, Collector of Stories|Practiced Spellcaster|Supporting Construction|
13Renegade Mastermaker 4|+7/+2|+8|+5|+12|Concentration 15, Craft (armor) 16, Know Arcana 16, Know Dungeoneering 11, Know Local 13, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 12, Know Planes 11, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 4, Collector of Stories||Damage Reduction 1/adamantine|
14Renegade Mastermaker 5|+7/+2|+8|+5|+12|Concentration 16, Craft (armor) 17, Know Arcana 17, Know Dungeoneering 11, Know Local 14, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 12, Know Planes 15, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 5, Collector of Stories||Battlefist (+2)
15|Renegade Mastermaker 6|+8/+3|+9|+6|+13|Concentration 17, Craft (armor) 18, Know Arcana 18, Know Dungeoneering 11, Know Local 15, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 13, Know Planes 17, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 6, Collector of Stories|Arcane Disciple: Warforged|
16|Renegade Mastermaker 7|+9/+4|+9|+6|+13|Concentration 18, Craft (armor) 19, Know Arcana 19, Know Dungeoneering 12, Know Local 16, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 13, Know Planes 19, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 7, Collector of Stories||Embed Component|
17Renegade Mastermaker 8|+10/+5|+10|+6|+14|Concentration 20, Craft (armor) 20, Know Arcana 20, Know Dungeoneering 12, Know Local 17, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 13, Know Planes 20, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 10, Collector of Stories||Damage Reduction 2/adamantine|
18Renegade Mastermaker 9|+10/+5|+10|+7|+14|Concentration 21, Craft (armor) 21, Know Arcana 21, Know Dungeoneering 12, Know Local 19, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 14, Know Planes 21, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 11, Collector of Stories|Cannith Forgecraft|Battlefist (+3), Construct Exemplar|
19Renegade Mastermaker 10|+11/+6/+1|+11|+7|+15|Concentration 22, Craft (armor) 22, Know Arcana 22, Know Dungeoneering 12, Know Local 21, Know Nature 10, Know Religion 14, Know Planes 22, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 12, Collector of Stories|Shocking Fist|
20|Wu Jen 9|+11/+6/+1|+12|+8|+15|Concentration 23, Craft (armor) 23, Know Arcana 23, Know Dungeoneering 12, Know Local 23, Know Nature 10, Know Religion 15, Know Planes 23, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 13, Collector of Stories||Spell Secret (Extended Time Stop)[/table]
{table=head]Stat|Base|Points|Level|Total|Mod
S|13|5|0|13|+1
D|8|0|0|8|-1
C|12|4|0|12|+1
I|17|13|2|19|+4
W|16|10|3|19|+4
C|8|0|0|8|-1[/table]
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th
1||||||||||
2|3|1||||||||
3|4|2||||||||
4|4|2|1|||||||
5|4|3|2|||||||
6|4|3|2|1||||||
7|4|3|3|2||||||
8|4|4|3|2|1|||||
9|4|4|3|3|2|||||
10|4|4|3|3|2|||||
11|4|4|4|3|2|1||||
12|4|4|4|3|3|2||||
13|4|4|4|4|3|2|1|||
14|4|4|4|4|3|3|2|||
15|4|4|4|4|4|3|2|1||
16|4|4|4|4|4|3|2|1||
17|4|4|4|4|4|3|3|2||
18|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|2|1|
19|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|3|2|
20|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|2|1[/table]
{table=head]Level|Spells Known
1|
2|Dancing Lights, Flare, Ray of Frost, Arcane Mark, Daze, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Disrupt Undead, Ghost Sound, Light, Mage Hand, Mending, Message, Open/Close, Prestidigitation, Read Magic, Resistance, Endure Elements| Charm Person| Magic Missile| Shield| Silent Image, True Strike
3|Obscuring Mist, Comprehend Languages
4|Alter Self, Blur
5|Detect Thoughts, Invisibility
6|Dispel Magic, Haste
7|Magnetism, Rebirth of Iron
8|Minor Creation, Polymorph
9|Creeping Darkness, Scrying
10|
11|Telekinesis, Teleport
12|Summon Monster V, Wall of Force
13|Geas/Quest, True Seeing
14|Dispel Magic (Greater), Globe of Invulnerability
15|Body Outside Body, Giant Size, Repair Light Damage, Construct Essence (Lesser), Stone Construct, Repair Critical Damage, Construct Energy Ward (Greater), Iron Construct, Construct Essence (Mass Lesser)
16|
17|Decapitating Scarf, Limited Wish, Total Repair
18|Mind Blank, Arcane Spellsurge
19|Summon Monster VIII, Polymorph Any Object
20|Time Stop, Shapechange, Summon Warforged Champion[/table]
The Tale of the Hand (Hezekiah 1:21-44)
SpoilerHear ye the voice of the Becoming:
"The land had been my home, but now we mourn for it--its name echoes no longer.
The land had housed a Forge, but now we mourn for it--its fire burns no longer.
The land had birthed a people, but now they rust in it--their plating shines no longer."
For seven moons, I sat and mourned. The lingering effects of war clung to my skin, pulling it in all directions. My arm melted from its bones, and they too became brittle. I cursed the Sovereign Host and pleaded for death, but it did not come. Instead, the Becoming God whispered:
"Bone shall break and flesh may fail, but the 'Forged shall flourish forever!"
At that time, some of the warforged Brothers and sisters living in the land took me into their temple. I lived among them and lived as them: I did not sleep except when my body demanded it of me. I did not use my feeble arm, but only touched things with my left hand. I trained with it exclusively, and it became strong. Realizing my potential as a warrior had faded since the Last War, I instead learned the ways of the magicians and their love of metal.
Eventually, I learned that I was nothing more than a Forged in a feeble human frame. I began working to correct what the land had done, and with the help of the Becoming God, I built myself a proper body as the one we strive to build for him. I could never have stopped at the arm, as other parts would soon begin to fail. Instead, I have become as He will become.
Hear ye the voice of the Becoming:
"My servants are those who build,
But he would would build me a frame must fortify his own.
As a creation can not be completed without its Creator,
The Becoming God is built by his servants.
The land is rebuilt by its people,
And they shall be rebuilt in it."
Selah.
The Way of Becoming (Hezekiah 2:1-12)
Spoiler- Levels 1-5: Unarmed Strikes and buff spells trade places back and forth. Alter Self comes into play as needed.
- Levels 6-10: We enter the Secret Ingredient and create our Battlefist...Decisive Dragonmark Fist continues to be a decent damage dealer. The Secret Ingredient is superior to wu-jen progression as it provides better HD, increased BAB, a good Fort save along with our good Will save, and some unique class abilities. Most importantly, though, it delays our 9th level spell secret as long as possible...more on that below.
- Levels 11-15: Our main schtick is fully fueled at level 15, and our spell list explodes with Warforged spells. We start growing to giant size, hammering folks with Quickened True Strike Decisive Dragonmark Fists. Practiced Spellcaster comes into play to offset the only downside of our Secret Ingredient and monk level: the lost caster levels.
- Levels 16-20: We tuck back into wu jen for level 9, which nets us a spell secret at 20th level. Conveniently, we're also picking up 9th level spells at this point. Now every time we cast Time Stop, it's Extended for free. Thanks, Renegade Mastermaker, for allowing my little wu jen to stop time like a BOSS!
The Fruit of the Forge (Hezekiah 2:13-31)
Spoiler- Battlefist: Though the mastermaker is an average BAB class, the enhancements provided to the battlefist make it feel more like a full BAB class by giving you a +10 to hit over its levels (+7 BAB and +3 battlefist). However, the biggest boon is that we can treat the battlefist as either manufactured or natural, much like an unarmed strike. The text specifies that it replaces your hand, so it seems you can make unarmed strikes with your battlefist. This is very good for the monk in us, as Dragonmark Fist allows us to spend an action point to deal maximum damage with an unarmed strike. Furthermore, Decisive Strike allows us to deal DOUBLE damage with an unarmed strike as a full-round action. Coupled together, we can deal double our maximum damage with one big attack. Throw on a Quickened True Strike to make sure your decisive Dragonmark Fist hits, and we're in business. However, our usual damage isn't extraordinary, so we'll pop off Giant size. By the end of the build, we're swinging a Colossal battlefist around. Our damage for that is 6d6 (according to this table)+ 3 battlefist+up to 5 Knowledge Devotion + up to 11d4 Shocking Fist + up to 11 Power Attack + 17 STR. When we're talking about doubling and maximizing that damage, it's only one attack per round, but it can deal 232 damage at the cost of one action point. Speaking of that pesky "one attack per round" dilemma...did I mention that we also have Body Outside Body? So there are really FOUR colossal battlefists swinging around the field with impressive reach for a total of 928 damage.
- Craft Master: Craft (armormaking) is not only useful for, you know, making armor, but it can be used to repair warforged characters (like we become at level 19). Cannith Forgecraft allows us to make this repair in 2 hours instead of 8, and the +10 bonus from Craft Master means we'll be healing significantly more HP than we would be without it. In addition, we can reroll one Craft check per week if we're really unpleased with the result of one of our checks to repair ourselves or make some swag for folks.
- Self-repair: At first, I thought this feature was kind of a stinker. It's a full-round action, it costs you a spell, and the amount healed didn't seem that spectacular. The best I could think of was using it to burn any unused spells at the end of the day for a decent nightcap. However, then I realized that my Body Outside Body clones have my class levels. The text of the spell says they can't cast spells, but doesn't mention anything about burning them to use a Supernatural ability. Not only can my clones use dragonmark abilities on themselves (thus quadrupling my number of uses), but they should be able to burn spells to heal.
- Supporting Construction: Getting Repair spells on the list was basically a requirement to use this class feature, since I didn't want to rest on my Mark of Making limited uses. The warforged domain (found in Faiths of Eberron) provides some repair spells as well as a handful of other goodies that only work on Warforged. Once we reach 10th level, this becomes very good news for us.
- Damage Reduction: DR 2/adamantine is great, but sometimes you just need more. Luckily, once we become a warforged we have spells on our list like Iron Construct and Stone Construct that can boost this through the roof. However, discerning readers will say that the spells overlap with this feature, instead of adding to it. To them, I float this suggestion: if flaws are allowed by your DM, take Spell Focus (Transmutation) as well as Toughening Transmutation. Voila, scaling DR that functions in addition to this class feature! The wu jen spell list is packed with transmutation spells, and some of them (Time Stop and Giant Size, particularly) become our bread and butter.
- Embed Component: So you can make and embed your own warforged components, eh? And they give you extra HP, eh? I've heard a lot of talk around this here Internet about making a bunch of super-cheap items into components for the bonus HP. For Hezekiah, this cheesy tactic could actually save his life, as each Body Outside Body clone that dies deals 10 points of damage...the bonus HP from components is always welcome. Either way you slice it, these items provide some interesting possibilities. The most interesting point is that it specifically calls out docents and artifact items as available to you...ask your DM if this means you can start crafting artifacts.
- Construct exemplar: So you become a warforged. Big deal, right? I mean, you get a bonus warforged feat, so that's pretty cool--us and our Body Outside Body clones will be spamming the heck out of Shocking Fist, since it seems like it doubles when we use Decisive Strike and gets maximized with our Dragonmark Fist (after all, it's part of the attack, whereas things like the Duskblade's Arcane Channeling specify that they are factored in after the attack damage is resolved normally). We also get full use of the Craft skill to repair ourselves (boosted by Cannith Forgecraft) and the ability to use our other Warforged domain spells on ourselves). But what do we gain that we wouldn't have from simply starting as a warforged? Well, we get the human bonus feat and extra skill points (which always come in handy when we're fueling Knowledge Devotion). The dragonmark is our big thing, though--without it we can't snag Cannith Forgecraft, so repairing ourself would take all night...no time to rest and regain spells. Also, we wouldn't be able to take Dragonmark Fist for MAX DAMAGE. Basically, being human and warforged at once is necessary to our schtick.
The CanonSpoiler- PHB
- Dragonmarked
- Eberron Campaign Setting
- Magic of Eberron
- Players Guide to Eberron
- Complete Divine
-
2012-11-17, 07:16 PM (ISO 8601)Firbolg in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2006
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
This Father is one mean mother.
Originally Posted by Father Aldwin
The Build
Father Aldwin
SpoilerLN Human Cleric 3/Church Inquisitor 3/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Contemplative 1/Church Inquisitor +3
Point Buy: Str 10/Dex 8/Con 14/Int 10/Wis 18/Cha 14
Initial Stats: Str 10/Dex 8/Con 14/Int 10/Wis 18/Cha 14
Final Stats: Str 10/Dex 8/Con 14/Int 10/Wis 23/Cha 14
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features
1st|Cleric|+0|+2|+0|+2|Max Know(Arcana), Know(Religion), Spellcraft|(Domain Bonus) Extend Spell, (Human Bonus) Persistent Spell, Divine Metamagic: Persistent Spell|Turn Undead, Planning domain, Warforged domain, Aura
2nd|Cleric|+1|+3|+0|+3|3x Craft(armorsmithing)|-|-
3rd|Cleric|+2|+3|+1|+3|3x Craft(armorsmithing)|Craft Wondrous Item|-
4th|Church Inquisitor|+2|+3|+1|+5|1x Craft(armorsmithing), 1x Know(Religion), 1x Know(Arcana), 0.5x Collector of Stories|-|Detect evil, Inquisition domain
5th|Church Inquisitor|+3|+3|+1|+6|1x Craft(armorsmithing), 1x Know(Religion), 1x Spellcraft, 0.5x Collector of Stories|-|Immune to charms
6th|Church Inquisitor|+4|+4|+2|+6|3x Know(Religion), Spellcraft, Know(The Planes)|Craft Magic Arms and Armor|Pierce illusion
7th|Renegade Mastermaker|+4|+6|+2|+8|0.5x Know(Religion), 2x Concentration & Spellcraft|-|Battlefist, Craft Master
8th|Renegade Mastermaker|+5|+7|+2|+9|0.5x Know(Religion), 2x Concentration & Spellcraft|-|Battlefist (+1), Self-repair
9th|Renegade Mastermaker|+6|+7|+3|+9|0.5x Know(Religion), 2x Concentration & Spellcraft|Quicken Spell|Supporting construction
10th|Renegade Mastermaker|+7|+8|+3|+10|0.5x Know(Religion), 2x Concentration, 1x Spellcraft, Use Magic Device|-|Damage reduction 1/adamantine
11th|Renegade Mastermaker|+7|+8|+3|+10|0.5x Know(Religion), 2x Concentration, 1x Spellcraft, Know(The Planes)|-|Battlefist (+2)
12th|Renegade Mastermaker|+8|+9|+4|+11|0.5x Know(Religion) & Swift Concentration, 2x Concentration, 1x Spellcraft|DMM: Quicken Spell|-
13th|Renegade Mastermaker|+9|+9|+4|+11|0.5x Know(Religion) & Swift Concentration, 2x Concentration, 1x Spellcraft|-|Embed component
14th|Renegade Mastermaker|+10|+10|+4|+12|0.5x Know(Religion), 2x Concentration, 1x Spellcraft, Know(The Planes)|-|Damage reduction 2/adamantine
15th|Renegade Mastermaker|+10|+10|+5|+12|2x Concentration, 1x Spellcraft, Know(The Planes), Know(Arcana)|Skill Focus (Know: Religion)|Battlefist (+3)
16th|Renegade Mastermaker|+11|+11|+5|+13|2x Know(The Planes), 1x Concentration, Spellcraft, Know(Arcana)|(RMM Bonus) Adamantine Body|Construct Exemplar
17th|Contemplative|+11|+11|+5|+15|Concentration, Know(Religion), Spellcraft|-|Alteration domain, Divine Health
18th|Church Inquisitor|+12|+11|+5|+16|Concentration, Know(Religion), Spellcraft|Craft Contingent Spell|Pierce disguise
19th|Church Inquisitor|+12|+11|+5|+16|Concentration, Know(Religion), Spellcraft|-|Immune to compulsions
20th|Church Inquisitor|+13|+12|+6|+17|Concentration, Know(Religion), Spellcraft|-|Force shapechange[/table]
Spells
SpoilerSpells per day*
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th
1st|3|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
2nd|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
3rd|4|2|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
4th|5|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
5th|5|3|2|1|-|-|-|-|-|-
6th|5|3|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-
7th|5|3|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-
8th|6|4|3|2|1|-|-|-|-|-
9th|6|4|3|3|2|-|-|-|-|-
10th|6|4|4|3|2|1|-|-|-|-
11th|6|4|4|3|3|2|-|-|-|-
12th|6|5|4|4|3|2|1|-|-|-
13th|6|5|4|4|3|2|1|-|-|-
14th|6|5|4|4|3|3|2|-|-|-
15th|6|5|5|4|4|3|2|1|-|-
16th|6|5|5|4|4|3|3|2|-|-
17th|6|5|5|5|4|4|3|2|1|-
18th|6|5|5|5|4|4|3|3|2|-
19th|6|5|5|5|5|4|4|3|2|1
20th|6|5|5|5|5|4|4|3|3|2[/table]
*Add +1 to all spell slots aside from 0lvl to account for domain spells.
Note: Does not account for spells gained from high Wis modifier.
The Story
SpoilerFile C-93: Father Aldwin
The following is the compilation of documents the Foundation possesses concerning the man known as Father Aldwin. It is to be included in all briefing material concerning the Church of the Broken God. Irrelevant information has been omitted from each document.
The following is the earliest available documentation on Father Aldwin. At the time of writing, Aldwin was apparently a lower ranking member in the church hierarchy, since he was a member, rather than the leader, of the team encountered by Agent R███. Moreover, it appears that at this time Father Aldwin was still entirely human, with no traces of 217 infection.
Personal Log of Agent R███
I probably won't survive this. It actually gives me a sense of peace, to write it down like that. I hope this log might help whoever else has to deal with them.
We were attacked by the Church of the Broken God. I recognized them and tried to stop them. I've spent two weeks in this place, and felt kind of attached to the locals, especially B████. Well, I guess I'll see him shortly.
The leader was "D███." Wore a green army jacket. He killed the tribe's warriors with a machete. Ungodly fast. Another was covered in robes, but it looked like he had some metal plating on underneath. I think they called him "Osmon." There was a lucky guy, Aldwin, and two others. They didn't have guns, so they looked like hikers, up until they started attacking. I tried to take them out with the AR, but couldn't get a shot off. Lack of training, I guess.
The warriors were fighting the others, so I tried to take out Aldwin, but I couldn't pull the trigger. The safety was off; I still don't understand it. But while I checked it I got stabbed in the gut. Then more.
They took the skip. Argued about burning the village, Aldwin and D███. Decided not to, so I got to live long enough to activate the [REDACTED] and write this note. Good luck to you.
A man with a green army jacket was found several weeks later, apparently bludgeoned to death, near a known Church of the Broken God dwelling. It is inferred that some sort of division occured in the church that resulted in "D███'s" death.
SpoilerThis build is playable from level 1. Since The Broken God isn't part of the D&D pantheon, Aldwin "selects two domains to represent his spiritual inclinations and abilities," in this case careful prior-planning and support of all things machine, especially warforged, who he sees as beloved images of his god.
Thanks to turning attempts from the Warforged domain and a high charisma score, Aldwin has more than enough turning attempts persist a spell a day (I like Bless, myself, but see if your DM will let you get away with Lesser Vigor). This makes him a supremely good buffer, in addition to a secondary tank.
By level 3, he discovers a corrupt sect within his church, and at level 4 begins working as a Church Inquisitor. This grants the situationally-useful Inquisition domain, and more importantly Immunity to Charms, and later Pierce Illusions. Being able to craft a slew of wondrous items doesn't hurt either. And of course, he's great in a party with warforged.
By level 5, he has 3rd-level spells and picks up Collector of Stories so he can easily identify undead, constructs, dragons, and magical beasts.
Although Father Aldwin was seen observed in several other instances related to the acquisition of anomalous objects, the incident on ██/██/████ distinguished him as a dangerous opponent of the Foundation. Mobile Task Force Beta-4 conducted a raid a location known to house the Church of the Broken God. The following footage is taken from that event, recorded by a hidden camera on Agent L█████'s helmet.
Surveillance Log x███, Date █-██-████
14:57 In a stone hallway, Beta-4 encounters a robed figure, later identified as Aldwin. Agent Ross's gun is leveled at the figure, who raises his hands in surrender. One of the hands appears to have been replaced with a metal gauntlet.
1
Audio Log s███-█ Date: █-██-████
<Aldwin> Who-
<Ross> Get on the ground!
<Aldwin> Ok, don't shoot-
<Ross> Hands behind your head! [Aldwin complies, and is handcuffed by Agents Bradley and L█████. Agent L█████ attempts to remove the gauntlet without success, and barely fits the manacle around it.]
<Ross> Where are the relics?!
<Aldwin> Please don't shoot! I'll tell you, just don't shoot!
<Ross> Tell us!
<Aldwin> At the end of the hall! The room at the end of the hall!
<Ross> Follow us! Bradley, guard him.
1
[REDACTED]
15:01 In the hallway, Aldwin slips out of his manacles and grabs Agent Bradley, who fires point blank. Aldwin is unfazed, and snaps Agent Bradley's neck.
[REDACTED]
1
Someone shouts "Father Aldwin! Are you ok?"
<Aldwin> Yes, I'm fine. Keep the jailors trapped. They must not be allowed to steal the holy pieces of God!
<Darns> There aren't supposed to be this many!
[REDACTED]
<Ross> Conserve ammo, keep them out of this room. Darns, throw a tox!
<Aldwin> Osmond!
1
15:03 Agent Darns lobs a ██ neurotoxin grenade into the hallway. A muscular automaton jumps on the grenade. Approximately 10 church members lie wounded or dead on the floor.
1
[REDACTED]
<Alwin> Collapse the hallway.
<Darns> No!
<Ross> Go!
There is an explosion and the sound of moving earth.
1
[REDACTED]
15:07 At the top of the stairs, Agent L█████ sees three automatic weapons pointed at him, and an unarmed Aldwin.
1
<Aldwin> Do not be afraid. Drop the holy relics and you may leave in peace.
<L█████> Oh yeah? And how's that?
<Aldwin> I have a message for your superiors. You may deliver it, or die here.
<L█████> Talk, I'll listen.
<Aldwin> Our lord has blessed us with extraordinary knowledge. We knew you were coming. Consider that the next time before you decide to attack us in our homes. You will not win. We will restore our god.
<L█████> That it?
<Aldwin> Yes. Keep your gun if you wish. These men are under my protection, and you will not harm-
Another explosion is heard, then gunshots.
1
15:09 Agent L█████ throws a grenade and sprints for the exit.
Father Aldwin displayed numerous anomalous properties during this incident, notably being able to withstand assault rifle bullets and a grenade from point blank range, neither of which can be accounted for with normal body armor.
SpoilerIt takes a level longer than wizards, but at level 7 Aldwin starts the SI; taking a break from being a church inquisitor to make himself more like his god. At level 7, he gets a fist that's useful for both unarmed attacks and Heavy Metal concerts, then at level 8 he puts that Craft Magical Arms feat to good use on his knockin' 1d8+Str (which is high thanks to Divine Power) Battlefist.
Self Repair gives him something to do with his domain slots when he's not planning or buffing/healing his warforged allies.
Supporting Construction synergizes with the Warforged domain, allowing him to heal himself better than with Self Repair once he gets Total Repair at level 17.
At level 9, he picks up Quicken spell and starts cashing in on the action economy, and at level 10, in addition to 5th level spells, he gets the incredibly powerful damage reduction that makes him slightly more resistant to both damage and poison.
Agent J████ was the sole surviving member of Mobile Armed Task Force 12 after a raid conducted by Aldwin and one ally, in which possession of SCP-271 was lost.
Interview Log c████, Date: ██-█-████
<O5-█>: What did the intruders look like?
<Agent J████>: Like something out of a fantasy book. One had green skin with bird wings and a trumpet. One of them looked like he was made of rocks. And one of them was a ghost or something.
<O5-█>: What do you mean by a ghost?
<Agent J████>: It was transparent, couldn't see him clearly. But it looked like he was riding a horse, and he had a huge lance. And he had the [DATA EXPUNGED], so we knew he was with the Church. And Aldwin-
<O5-█>: You confirmed it was the member known as "Father Aldwin"?
<Agent J████>: Yeah, I mean, yes. Visual confirmation. He looked like he was [REDACTED] from 217 infection. It wasn't like the video though, he looked, I don't know, like an angel, but all metal. He got really bright when we put the searchlight on him, hard to see.
<O5-█>: I see. Did you experience any other hallucinatory phenomena?
<Agent J████>: What? No! Everything else looked like normal, like it was supposed to. It was just those four... things.
<O5-█>: I see. What happened next?
<Agent J████>: They attacked. It was insane, the ghost-thing was killing us and we couldn't touch him. The bird guy blew his trumpet and half of us were paralyzed, just like that. The golem was smashing things left and right. And Aldwin was unstoppable. Like bullets didn't even matter to him. I couldn't move, was stuck watching from the tower while they slaughtered the our team. When they finished, he took the skip and disappeared.
SpoilerAt level 12, Aldwin picks up DMM Quicken and starts breaking the action economy over his knee with his extra turning attempts, since by now he can afford nightsticks.
Then at 13 he finishes Swift Concentration to make extra use everything from Bridge of Sound to Implosion, and gets the abusable (see "Extra Cheese") Embed Component.
Finally, at 15 he picks up some awesome 7th level spells, including an extra Dictum from the Inquisition domain. He also takes Practiced Spellcaster for a nice +2 CL on that Dictum.
After the previous incident, it was several months before Father Aldwin reappeared. He did so inside the containment area of SCP-172 in Site-██, before mounting a single-person assault on the rest of the facility. Due to collateral damage during Aldwin's break in, almost all video and audio logs were damaged, leaving only the following, presumably due to his lack of activity in the area.
Audio Log c████-█ Date: █-██-████
<Aldwin> Grandfather, I'm overjoyed to see you.
<SCP-172> You don't have to call me that you know.
[data corrupt]
<Aldwin> I have come to liberate [data corrupt] The unbelievers cannot stop us now. I have finally become powerful enough to [data corrupt]
[data corrupt]
<SCP-172> I will stay. I wish you well.
Father Aldwin apparently left at this point. SCP-172 has proven reluctant to discuss the the exchange, except to say that he did not share Father Aldwin's ideals.
During the attack, Site ██ sustained massive damage, resulting in loss of containment of over ██ SCPs, of which only ██ have been recovered, and the death or disappearance of ███ D-class, ██ researchers, and ██ agents, including █ mobile task forces. It is theorized that Father Aldwin took several of the missing SCPs with him. In addition, he somehow prevented the detonation of the on-site nuclear weapon.
In Review: Father Aldwin is extremely dangerous, and should not be engaged except by highly trained personnel with the proper equipment. Due to his motivation, goals, ability to obtain information, ability to enact complex plans, and growing list of anomalous properties, he has been classified as a P1-level threat.
SpoilerLevel 20 and Persistent 9th level spells! But first we have to get there. Level 16 gives the awesome capstone, Construct Exemplar, which in addition to its other bonuses, allows Aldwin to cast his other Warforged domain spells on himself, like turning himself into a full construct, or better yet an Iron Construct. He also picks up Adamantine Body (take that Wizard-entry RMMs) because he can simply craft fortify his armor later with the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat.
Having completed his desire to turn himself into a machine, Aldwin takes time to meditate on his god, as represented by a level in the contemplative class. Continuing the theme of selecting domains to represent his spiritual inclinations and abilities, Aldwin takes the Alteration domain, which grants him access to some of the most powerful spells in the D&D universe, including, eventually, Shapechange, and a +1 CL when casting them.
After attuning to his god, Aldwin resumes his duties as Church Inquisitor, both seeking out pieces of the Broken God to put back together, and routing heresy from the church. He picks up Craft Contingent Spell to aid him in his mission, because you never know when you're going to need Protection from Sonic Energy, and goes to town.
It took a while, but he finally becomes immune to Dominate Monster at about the same time enemies start casting it. In addition, he snags Time Stop, Shapechange, and the situationally-useful Imprisonment from the Wizard spell list, and even gets Summon Warforged Champion, in case he didn't have enough buddies to buff and sick on enemies.
Finally, at level 20, he gets Force Shapechange, allowing him to win a shapechanging war with another spellcaster, followed by him repairing the Broken God and winning the game. Or unleashing an insane monstrosity on the world, depending how your DM plays it. Either way, he succeeds.
The best spot for this build is probably level 20, when he can cast any number of buffs, both cheesy and non, and then wade into combat with a magic two-handed weapon, shapechanged into a creature with a bunch of powerful attacks, or straight up unarmed with the battlefist. Here are some of the highlights:
Persistent Spells:
- Shapechange
- Greater Visage of the Deity
- Veil of Undeath
- Holy Aura
- Lion's Roar
- Shield of Archons
- Holy Transformation
- Holy Star
- Spiritual Guardian
- Vigorous Circle
- Anti Life Shell
- Iron Construct
- Lesser Telepathic Bond
- Righteous Wrath of the Faithful
- Righteous Might
- True Seeing
- Greater Construct Energy Ward
- Halo of Vengeance
- Detect Scrying
- Freedom of Movement
- Divine Power
- Counter Attack
- Planar Tolerance
- Recitation
- Blessing of the Righteous
- Death Ward
- Detect Thoughts
- Vengeful Shield
- Divine Retaliation
- Footsteps of Divine
- Invisibility Purge
- Cloud of Knives
- Interfaith Blessing
- Balor Nimbus
- Elation
- Lesser Construct Essence
- Crystal of Reflection
- Deathwatch
- Bless
- Blessed Aim
- Comprehend Languages
- Detect Alignment
- Strength of Mind
- Greater Enhance Magical Flow
- Detect Magic
- Read Magic
Etc.
SpoilerAdaptations:
Spoiler- Fractional BAB gives +1 point of BAB, faster Fort and Ref progression, and +1 point of Will.
- Cloistered Cleric is superior to straight cleric if starting at level 7 (when you have Divine Power) or later, and, if flaws are allowed, you can take Able Learner and swap Inquisition domain for Knowledge Devotion.
- The last four feats (and RMM bonus feat) can be traded for gish feats, if you want to go that route (particularly useful in conjunction with the previous point). Take Power Attack, Battle Jump, Improved Bull Rush and Shock Trooper, and persist a few spells (eg. Miracle-Lion's Charge, Miracle-Bite of the Werebear, and Divine Power) to deal 300 damage per round with the Battlefist alone.
- If you want to be more finding-things oriented, you can swap the last 3 levels of Church Inquisitor for Divine Oracle by swapping Practiced Spellcaster for Skill Focus(Know:Religion). It grants Divination and Scrying at a lower level, plus Foresight, in addition to +3 total CL on divinations and the nifty Divination Enhancement.
- The RMM class levels can be moved back as far as level 11 if eg. you want immunity to compulsions earlier. Doing so means it takes longer to become a warforged and work that synergy with Warforged domain and, fluffwise, this character ideally wants to become a machine as soon as possible.
- If you decide to worship the Sovereign Host for awhile, you can drop the last four levels of Church Inquisitor in favor of Sovereign Speaker. This works especially as an easy way for a gish to get the Animal/Law/Strength/Travel devotion feats.
Extra-Cheese Options:
Spoiler- Add Initiate of Mystra or Extraordinary Spell Aim in place of Practiced Spellcaster or Craft Contingent Spell to walk around casting spells in an AMF.
- Change race to Dragonborn Incarnate Construct Saint Warforged (it even fits perfectly well with the theme, except maybe the dragonborn part), or even Dragonborn Saint Human if you can buy off the LA+2. The former requires moving DMM:Persistent Spell to the 9th level feat slot, which may be worth the trade, considering that at level 17 you become immune to most forms of damage.
- ECS pg. 268 says that any magic item can be made as a warforged component. Blessed Bandages are 10gp each, ergo you can spend 1/10 of your level 20 WBL for 7,600 HP (or all of it for 76,000).
Sources
SpoilerCore, Eberron Campaign Setting, Faiths of Eberron, Magic of Eberron, Spell Compendium, Dragonlance Campaign Setting, Complete Divine, Complete Arcane
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2012-11-17, 07:18 PM (ISO 8601)Firbolg in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2006
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
Nothing to see here, folks; it's just a robot dragon. Wait, what?
Originally Posted by Kiryu
Born from the depths of the sea...
Remade in Bahamut's form...
Rebuilt in the forges of Cannith...
...this is KIRYU !
Kiryu, dragonborn (heart aspect) darfellan duskblade 6/suel arcanamach 4/renegade mastermaker 10
Spoiler
Lawful Good
Str 16/Dex 6/Con 16/Int 12/Wis 12/Cha 16 (after racial mods)
All stat boosts go to Charisma
(The Skilled City Dweller ACF is used to swap Ride with Tumble as a duskblade class skill.)
KIRYU
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features
1st|Duskblade 1|+1|+2|+0|+2|Craft (blacksmithing) 4 ranks, spellcraft 4 ranks, concentration 4 ranks|Iron Will|Arcane attunement, armored mage (light)
2nd|Duskblade 2|+2|+3|+0|+3|Craft (blacksmithing) 5 ranks, spellcraft 5 ranks, tumble 1 rank|Combat Casting|
3rd|Duskblade 3|+3|+3|+1|+3|Craft (blacksmithing) 6 ranks, tumble 2 ranks, jump 1 rank|Craft Wondrous Item|Arcane channeling
4th|Duskblade 4|+4|+4|+1|+4|Craft (blacksmithing) 7 ranks, tumble 3 ranks, jump 2 ranks||Armored mage (medium)
5th|Duskblade 5|+5|+4|+1|+4|Craft (blacksmithing) 8 ranks, tumble 4 ranks, jump 3 ranks||Quick cast 1/day
6th|Duskblade 6|+6/+1|+5|+2|+5|Craft (blacksmithing) 9 ranks, tumble 5 ranks, jump 4 ranks|Craft Magic Arms and Armor|Spell power +2
7th|Renegade Mastermaker 1|+6/+1|+7|+2|+7|Craft (blacksmithing) 10 ranks, use magic device 4 ranks||Battlefist, craft master
8th|Suel Arcanamach 1|+6/+1|+7|+4|+9|Craft (blacksmithing) 11 ranks, spellcraft 6 ranks, concentration 5 ranks, jump 5 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 1 rank||Ignore spell failure chance 5%, tenacious spells
9th|Renegade Mastermaker 2|+7/+2|+8|+4|+10|Craft (blacksmithing) 12 ranks, use magic device 8 ranks|Entangling Exhalation|Battlefist (+1), self-repair
10th|Renegade Mastermaker 3|+8/+3|+8|+5|+10|Craft (blacksmithing) 13 ranks, use mage device 12 ranks||Supporting construction
11th|Renegade Mastermaker 4|+9/+4|+9|+5|+11|Craft (blacksmithing) 14 ranks, use magic device 14 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, concentration 6 ranks||Damage reduction 1/adamantine
12th|Renegade Mastermaker 5|+9/+4|+9|+5|+11|Craft (blacksmithing) 15 ranks, use magic device 15 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 3 ranks, concentration 7 ranks, spellcraft 7 ranks|Practiced Spellcaster (Suel Arcanamach)|Battlefist (+2)
13th|Renegade Mastermaker 6|+10/+5|+10|+6|+12|Craft (blacksmithing) 16 ranks, use magic device 16 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks, concentration 8 ranks, spellcraft 8 ranks||
14th|Renegade Mastermaker 7|+11/+6/+1|+10|+6|+12|Craft (blacksmithing) 17 ranks, use magic device 17 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks, concentration 9 ranks, spellcraft 9 ranks||Embed component
15th|Renegade Mastermaker 8|+12/+7/+2|+11|+6|+13|Craft (blacksmithing) 18 ranks, use magic device 18 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 6 ranks, concentration 10 ranks, spellcraft 10 ranks|Minor Shapeshift|Damage reduction 2/adamantine
16th|Renegade Mastermaker 9|+12/+7/+2|+11|+7|+13|Craft (blacksmithing) 19 ranks, use magic device 19 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 7 ranks, concentration 11 ranks, spellcraft 11 ranks||Battlefist (+3)
17th|Renegade Mastermaker 10|+13/+8/+3|+12|+7|+14|Craft (blacksmithing) 20 ranks, use magic device 20 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks, concentration 12 ranks, spellcraft 12 ranks|Improved Fortification|Construct exemplar
18th|Suel Arcanamach 2|+14/+9/+4|+12|+8|+15|Craft (blacksmithing) 21 ranks, use magic device 21 ranks, concentration 13 ranks, spellcraft 13 ranks|Versatile Spellcaster|Dispelling strike 1/day
19th|Suel Arcanamach 3|+15/+10/+5|+13|+8|+15|Craft (blacksmithing) 22 ranks, use magic device 22 ranks, concentration 14 ranks, spellcraft 14 ranks||Extended spellstrength
20th|Suel Arcanamach 4|+16/+11/+6/+1|+13|+9|+16|Craft (blacksmithing) 23 ranks, use magic device 23 ranks, concentration 15 ranks, spellcraft 15 ranks||Ignore spell failure chance 10%[/table]
Duskblade Spells
Spoiler
Duskblade Spells per Day
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th
1st|3|2|-|-|-|-
2nd|4|3|-|-|-|-
3rd|5|4|-|-|-|-
4th|6|5|-|-|-|-
5th|6|5|2|-|-|-
6th|6|6|3|-|-|-
7th|6|6|3|-|-|-
8th|6|6|3|-|-|-
9th|6|6|3|-|-|-
10th|6|6|3|-|-|-
11th|6|6|3|-|-|-
12th|6|6|3|-|-|-
13th|6|6|3|-|-|-
14th|6|6|3|-|-|-
15th|6|6|3|-|-|-
16th|6|6|3|-|-|-
17th|6|6|3|-|-|-
18th|6|6|3|-|-|-
19th|6|6|3|-|-|-
20th|6|6|3|-|-|-[/table]
Duskblade Spells Known:
0: Acid splash, touch of fatigue, ray of frost
1: Shocking grasp, ray of enfeeblement, swift expeditious retreat, resist energy
2: Dimension hop, swift fly
Suel Arcanamach Spells
Spoiler
Suel Arcanamach Spells per Day/Spells Known
{table=head]Level|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th
1st|-|-|-|-|-
2nd|-|-|-|-|-
3rd|-|-|-|-|-
4th|-|-|-|-|-
5th|-|-|-|-|-
6th|-|-|-|-|-
7th|-|-|-|-|-
8th|1 / 1|-|-|-|-
9th|1 / 2|0 / 1|-|-|-
10th|2 / 2|1 / 2|-|-|-
11th|2 / 2|2 / 2|0 / 1|-|-
12th|3 / 3|2 / 2|1 / 2|-|-
13th|3 / 3|3 / 3|2 / 2|0 / 1|-
14th|3 / 3|3 / 3|2 / 2|0 / 1|-
15th|3 / 3|3 / 3|2 / 2|1 / 2|-
16th|4 / 4|3 / 3|3 / 3|2 / 2|0 / 1
17th|4 / 4|4 / 4|3 / 3|2 / 2|1 / 2
18th|4 / 4|4 / 4|3 / 3|3 / 3|2 / 2
19th|4 / 4|4 / 4|3 / 3|3 / 3|2 / 2
20th|4 / 4|4 / 4|3 / 3|3 / 3|2 / 2[/table]
Suel Arcanamach Spells Known:
1: Nerveskitter, protection from evil, silent image, shield
2: Wraithstrike, heroics, dispelling touch, chain of eyes
3: Haste, greater mighty wallop, girallon’s blessing
4: Greater mirror image, polymorph, blinding breath
5: Lightning leap, dispelling breath
He Came From the Depths: The Rise of Kiryu
Spoiler
The enemy came from the depths of the Bitter Sea to make war on Khorvaire.
The great beast's origins are still shrouded in mystery, but most believe it to be an ancient sea creature from forgotten ages, corrupted by the influence of the Dragon Below. It seemed to be attracted to the Khyber dragonshards that powered the rails and airships of Khorvaire. It rose from the depths, and it laid waste to the small cities dotting the northern coast, robbing them of their Khyber shards. Retaliation proved impossible, as the beast would retreat to deep caverns and trenches hidden far below the Bitter Sea, where none could follow.
It was here that Kiryu Sea-slayer, hunter among the proud darfellan people, came to know the great beast. He watched helplessly, time and time again, as the great beast would murder his people. And he swore to slay it, once and for all.
As the beast seemed to be a creature of the Dragon Below, Kiryu swore himself to the dragon above, the Platinum Dragon. In Bahamut's form he remade himself, so that he may one day slay the great beast.
Kiryu knew that a beast feeding off the shards of Khyber could only be opposed by similar magics. And when he rose in his new dragon-form, he set himself a new task - to collect the dragonshards of Syberis. He constructed a great helm, and used the Syberis shards he found to power his new form.
But he did not stop there. Realizing the strength this new helm gave him, he began rebuilding his form even further. His scales became armor plating. His eyes became piercing lenses. His fists became powerful claws. Soon he grew, more machine than man, into a creature capable of taking on the great beast.
And on that day, he strode into the Bitter Sea...
Kiryu's Arsenal
Spoiler
The Drake-Helm
The first item that Kiryu built was the Drake-Helm, a helmet that allowed him to harness the power of Syberis dragonshards.
The Drake-Helm is found in the Explorer's Handbook. Kiryu crafts his first Drake-Helm at level 4, and upgrades every four levels. This item acts as a receptacle for Syberis dragonshards. He can then attune those Syberis dragonshards to give him additional spells known as a duskblade and suel arcanamach.
He is constantly traveling and looking for new Syberis dragonshards to attune. These significantly expand his spell list. He can power up duskblade spells to add to his suel arcanamach spell list, allowing him to use his increased caster level and extended spellstrength on them. He can also add spells from other spell lists, either via scroll or by having the spell provided by another caster.
The Battlefist
Like the Drake-Helm, Kiryu has built his battlefist himself, and enchants it as early as possible. His renegade mastermaker levels provide it with an excellent enhancement bonus on their own, so he simply adds on extra properties.
Kiryu has a couple of advantages when adding enhancements to his battlefist - the heroics spell, and his Drake-Helm. His Drake-Helm gives him access to spells he ordinarily would not have, so that he can add enhancements like holy (which ordinarily requires the holy smite spell). Heroics gives him feats that he needs to add in additional effects, such as the Martial Study feat so that he may create martial discipline weapons.
Breath of the Dragon
The mighty breath of Bahamut rains down destruction on the enemies of the Platinum Dragon. In addition to being area effect damage of whatever type is necessary, Kiryu adds a number of rider effects to his breath. Entangling Exhalation is a powerful debuff, and Blinding Breath and Dispelling Breath both give him ways to further augment his breath as a swift action. Dispelling Breath in particular is a powerful debuff, with a higher cap than dispel magic and effecting a huge area.
Snapshot
Spoiler
LEVEL 15: Duskblade 6/suel arcanamach 1/renegade mastermaker 8
At this level, Kiryu has a base attack just three points below a full fighter, second level duskblade spells and fourth level suel arcanamach spells. He has a breath weapon that can do energy damage of any major type for 6d8 damage, which also entangles and can blind. He can channel spells such as dispelling touch, chain of eyes and dimension hop.
In melee, his greater mighty wallop'd battlefist is his primary offense. He buffs himself with haste and wraithstrike and goes to town. His defenses are excellent, with damage reduction and Minor Shapeshift allowing him to absorb 17 hit points of damage every round without even touching his HP total.
Sources
Spoiler
Duskblade: PHB2
Suel Arcanamach, Practiced Spellcaster: Complete Arcane
Dragonborn of Bahamut, Versatile Spellcaster, Entangling Exhalation: Races of the Dragon
Darfellan: Stormwrack
Drake-Helm: Explorer's Handbook
Martial Discipline Weapons: Tome of Battle
Minor Shapeshift: Complete Mage
For spell sources, see the Spell Compendium, Races of the Dragon, Player's Handbook 2 and Complete Mage.
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2012-11-17, 07:22 PM (ISO 8601)Firbolg in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2006
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
Look out! It's a. . . I have no idea, really.
Originally Posted by Gregor Samsa
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2012-11-17, 07:25 PM (ISO 8601)Firbolg in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2006
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
That's the last of them, folks! On your mark, get set, JUDGE!
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2012-11-17, 09:26 PM (ISO 8601)Troll in the Playground
- Join Date
- Jul 2007
- Location
- Bellona
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
Wow, I'm surprised there weren't more entries! A lot of fun things here.
I had a couple of build thoughts involving the artificer, but I thought it would mean too much of a hit to originality, being the most obvious lead-in. My favorite was an artificer/renegade mastermaker/fleshwarper, but even though I got as far as a build write-up, I ended up abandoning the build... I was having a lot of trouble getting the pre-reqs down, and I knew I'd get hammered both in originality (for artificer) and in elegance (because of some fairly cheesy graft options).
I'm also super surprised no one decided to do a ranged battlefist option, which was my very first thought. I don't know why, but I sort of expected to see at least one of those... I'm sort of sad that I didn't go that route now!Optimization Showcase in the Playground
Former projects:
Shadowcaster Handbook
Archer Build Compendium
Iron Chef Awards!
Spoiler
GOLD
IC LXXVI: Talos
IC LXXV: Alphonse Louise Constant
IC XLIX: Babalon, Queen of Bones
IC XLV: Dead Mists
IC XL: Lycus Blackbeak
IC XXXIX: AM-1468
IC XXXV: Parsifal the Fool
IC XXX: Jal Filius
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2012-11-17, 09:47 PM (ISO 8601)Firbolg in the Playground
- Join Date
- Jun 2009
- Gender
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
Interesting builds all around. Amusingly enough, one of the other entries this round was almost identical to one of my earlier ideas.
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2012-11-17, 10:16 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
- Join Date
- Feb 2011
- Location
- Texas
- Gender
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
I was sure that this competition would be littered with fleshwarpers, so I didn't do one either. Originally Posted by Piggy Knowles
it's part of the process for iron chef I do every time that I just call vizzinniing for obvious reasons. I often go through this exercise when it comes to "obvious" spices to compliment the SI.
I was sure there'd be no artificers though, too obvious and too much bookkeeping, plus dependent on items, which is never good for scores.I've got a new fantasy TTRPG about running your own fencing school in a 3 musketeers pastiche setting. Book coming soon.
Check out my NEW sci-fi TTRPG about first contact. Cool alien races, murderous AIs, and more. New expansion featuring rules for ships! New book here NOW!
Iron Chef Medals! Originally Posted by weckar
Amazing Princess Mononoke avatar by Dispozition
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2012-11-17, 10:18 PM (ISO 8601)Banned
- Join Date
- May 2012
- Location
- Brazil
- Gender
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
I gave up when I noticed Artificer is actually good with his class, being able to use his construct-only infusions on himself (and they come fairly late, too), while all other classes simply had better options elsewhere.
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2012-11-17, 10:19 PM (ISO 8601)Troll in the Playground
- Join Date
- Jul 2007
- Location
- Bellona
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
...and, for fun, here are the entries:
{table=head]#|Entry|Race|Class
1|Antony Mallory|Human|Sleeping Tiger Monk 2/Shadowcaster 7/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Soul Eater 1
2|Kilroy|Human|Human Paragon 3/Cyre Scout 7/Renegade Mastermaker 10
3|Hardy|Human|Cloistered Cleric 3/Psychic Warrior 4/Psychic Theurge 3/Renegade Mastermaker 10
4|Hezekiah d'Cannith|Human|Monk 1/Wu Jen 9/Renegade Mastermaker 10
5|Father Aldwin|Human|Cleric 3/Church Inquisitor 6/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Contemplative 1
6|Kiryu|Dragonborn Darfellan|Duskblade 6/Suel Arcanamach 4/Renegade Mastermaker 10
7|Gregor Samsa|Changeling|Wizard 5/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Master Transmogrifist 2/Archmage 3[/table]
(And again I am reminded that I spend way too much time reading Iron Chef entries... at this point I'm pretty sure who the authors of five out of seven builds are, just because the style of certain contestants has grown so familiar to me...)
EDIT: And, since my brain is still riffing on RMM build ideas...
Gold Dwarf, Incarnate 2/Artificer 3/Ironsoul Forgemaster 5/Renegade Mastermaker 10
Crafts weapons and armor (including enhancing the battlefist) at a caster level of 28. Gets fifth-level infusions (including all of the tasty construct-only fourth level infusions) and at least two chakra binds, or more with feats.Last edited by Piggy Knowles; 2012-11-17 at 10:57 PM.
Optimization Showcase in the Playground
Former projects:
Shadowcaster Handbook
Archer Build Compendium
Iron Chef Awards!
Spoiler
GOLD
IC LXXVI: Talos
IC LXXV: Alphonse Louise Constant
IC XLIX: Babalon, Queen of Bones
IC XLV: Dead Mists
IC XL: Lycus Blackbeak
IC XXXIX: AM-1468
IC XXXV: Parsifal the Fool
IC XXX: Jal Filius
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2012-11-17, 11:04 PM (ISO 8601)Ettin in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2010
- Location
- Where I live.
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
I try to not read that hard into them, for that reason exactly.
Oh, and my planned build that would make you hurt me?
Phrenic Incarnate Warforged Swashbuckler (Arcane Stunt) 7/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Reforged 3
I literally have no reason to take the SI, and the last 3 levels actually remove all the benefits of the class except for battlefist, DR 2/-, and that ability to sacrifice spell-slots (that I don't have) to heal myself.
I have no casting to advance, I'm not good at anything, and... yeah.
I was aiming at the minimum possible UoSI score possible.
My feats would have included something to give me Detect Magic 1/Day, so I could take Sense Quintessence.
Because Thoon is Thoon!If you see me try to discuss the nitty-gritty of D&D 5e, kindly point me to my signature and remind me that I shouldn't. Please and thank you! Originally Posted by segtrfyhtfgj
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2012-11-17, 11:17 PM (ISO 8601)Firbolg in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2006
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
Note from Hardy:
I'd used italics to indicate that the 2nd and 5th blocks in the backstory were flashbacks, forgetting that they would be lost in the quoteblock. Would you be able to add some extra lines or something to try and show that they are meant to be separate to the rest, so people don't get confused?
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2012-11-17, 11:52 PM (ISO 8601)Ogre in the Playground
- Join Date
- Nov 2011
- Gender
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
Can I get specification on which source is used for what on Kilroy?
I can't figure out what the dragon is used for....(I'm assuming its dragon compendium?)
I'll worry about getting started later. For now, a general overview is interesting. I think there aren't any really similar builds.Quotes:
Spoiler Originally Posted by Hashmir
When I die, I donate my body to the cause of whatever ******* finds it first.
Originally Posted by Bloodgruve
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2012-11-18, 12:35 AM (ISO 8601)Ettin in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2010
- Location
- Where I live.
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
I think Dra stands for Dragonmarked...
If you see me try to discuss the nitty-gritty of D&D 5e, kindly point me to my signature and remind me that I shouldn't. Please and thank you! Originally Posted by segtrfyhtfgj
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2012-11-18, 03:54 AM (ISO 8601)Ogre in the Playground
- Join Date
- Jun 2010
- Location
- Durham
- Gender
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
Well lets Judge
AM-1468
Spoiler
Originality: 4.5 turning a normally caster or what many would assume a caster class into a teleporting martial artist that eats souls.
Power: 3.5 Not that powerful but does his job well and makes for a interesting character
Elegance: 4, It blends well, not to much multi-classing
Secret Ingredient: 4.25, all part of the flavor in this case so well used with the character and adds to his combo
Kilroy
Spoiler
Originality: 1.75, I didn't see anything that was clever or well original
Power: 3.9, Great use of Craft checks and other uses for it
Elegance: 3.5, Not the best but not bad by any stretch
Secret Ingredient: 2, I don't know what you were with Kilroy and he doesn't seem fun
Hardy
Spoiler
Originality: 4.25, Psionic + Divine into a guy becoming a warforged slowly
Power: 3.25, Right not very powerful. He is a good contender and decent work
Elegance: 3, the very same reason you have such a great originality is why you only get a 3 here.
Secret Ingredient: 3.75, Late entry is made up for with working in abilities from the class and other classes into the full character
Hezekiah
Spoiler
Originality: 4, I had something clever to say here but the point is Terminator
Power: 3.5, Free extended time stop along with other benefits
Elegance: 2.25, grabbing that last level of Wu Jen for said Time Stop and monk for free Improved Unarmed Strike
Secret Ingredient: 4.25 Great use of the class with said Unarmed Strike to make a character whose punches pack a little extra
Father Aldwin
Spoiler
Originality: 3.75, Techno priest so awesome, and loving the theme. Guns are meh
Power: 4, This makes a terror of a man-machine thing
Elegance: 4.5, great use of a religious theme as a techno priest.
Secret Ingredient: 4.5, TECHNO PRIEST! This is one of the things I wanted to see in this challenge.
Kiryu
Spoiler
Originality: 4.75, Mecha Godzilla + Iron Man + Eberron Win
Power: 4.5, Various ways to fight foes and more skill towards versatility
Elegnace: 4.1, Duskblade has a great versatility and casting which works well with this class and the other choices.
Secret Ingredient: 4.25, Mecha Godzilla along with great reasons to take the class for the character
Gregor Samsa
Spoiler
Originality: 3.75, Interesting choice a non-rouge changeling
Power: 3, Disappointing but better then expected
Elegance: 2, The classes don't fit well
Secret Ingredient: 1.75, Secret Ingredient seems stale and just thrown itCheck Out
Check out my youtube channel just click here and enjoy?
Spoiler Originally Posted by Miscast_Mage
Originally Posted by Arbane
"Sleep is optional, just ask Vknight" Someone I Forget but thanks... I don't Originally Posted by Jay R
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2012-11-18, 04:58 AM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
- Join Date
- Oct 2009
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
I honestly kinda half-expected at least one entry to try to get into the SI asap so they could finish up with warforged juggernaut; going for the from a fleshy into a full-on robot schtick. Ah well.
I am not seaweed. That's a B.
Praise I've receivedA quick outline on building a homebrew campaignSpoiler Originally Posted by ThiagoMartell
Originally Posted by LTwerewolf
Avatar by Tiffanie Lirle
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2012-11-18, 05:50 AM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
- Join Date
- Jul 2007
- Location
- Terra Australis
- Gender
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
I was going to try for a Mechanatrix build, but then I realized it wouldn't be legal, since they are Outsiders, not humanoids. Then I thought about a Lesser Planetouched Mechanatrix, but that would involve mixing FR and Eberron material...
Last edited by Thurbane; 2012-11-19 at 01:08 AM.
My winning competition entries: Kinvig Arrumskor | The Great Pumpkinhead | Wynfrith d'Acker
Torn-City - Massively multiplayer online browser based crime RPG
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2012-11-18, 06:49 AM (ISO 8601)Firbolg in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2006
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
Note from Gregor Samsa:
part of my features for RM 10 got clipped. being an arcane spellcaster, I took unarmored body as my bonus warforged feat. no real effect, just doesn't take away what I have
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2012-11-18, 09:19 AM (ISO 8601)Orc in the Playground
- Join Date
- Aug 2012
- Location
- Spain, it's sunny
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
I considered building an artificer 8 / Renegade Mastermaker 10 / Cannith Wand Adept 2
Going with load of wand feats, and using the warforged turning to get wand bonding (which is a [warforged] feat).
At the end I didn't take that route because artificer was the obvious entry for the renegade, I feared it was going to be quite unoriginal and it wouldn't be able to compete with 9th level spells.Working on: Anointed Heritor PEACHes are welcome.
Playing with: Firia & Cadaver
Awesome avatar by Strawberries
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2012-11-18, 10:08 AM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
- Join Date
- Oct 2006
- Location
- Cleveland, OH
- Gender
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
I had several build ideas which did exactly that: Originally Posted by Kelb_Panthera
Wizard 5/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Warforged Charger 5 was the simplest, but wound up being way too weak as a wizard (only 7th level spells), way too fragile to use a battlefist in melee, and too lousy of a charger/bull rusher to justify Warforged Charger. That and there was no easy way to reduce the 35% Arcane Spell Failure from Adamantine Body.
Duskblade 2/Ranger 3/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Warforged Charger 5 (using the Frostblood Half-Orc trick to get Craft Arms & Armor at ECL 5, and Practiced Spellcaster to qualify for the caster level) was a bit stronger, better BAB and better HP, 3rd level Duskblade spells, and Battle Caster x2 solves the ASF problem. But there weren't enough feat slots left to do anything interesting with the battlefist, and I wasn't sure I wanted to push the judges on TWFing greatsword + offhand battlefist.
Duskblade 3/Human Paragon 2/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Warforged Charger 5 was a bit more promising, +2 caster levels and one more bonus feat than the last build, and I had the inklings of a backstory, but I couldn't figure out how to get any decent damage output with the battlefist on a charge.
The most promising build:
Warlock 3/Human Paragon 2/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Warforged Charger 5.
I even had a name for him: Tohoni Stahark, A.K.A. "Iron Man". 6d6 eldritch blast, flying, and one greater invocation. I even thought I might have a trick with getting iterative slams with the battlefist, but then I reread Hideous Blow, and it was indeed a Hideous Blow to my build (good gawd, has any invocation destroyed so much hope and joy in the world?). I tried to salvage it with Eldritch Glaive, but by my reading, that didn't allow offhand attacks, so the battlefist became nearly useless... and most of the class features of Renegade Mastermaker revolve around it, so why would I take 10 levels of that over 10 more levels of Warlock?
Ah well. I may throw my hat in as a judge, although I've never done it before, and I'm worried I'd make a mess of it.
I'm a bit astounded there were no Ur-Priest 2's in there somewhere. But then I myself discarded that idea as "too easy".Last edited by Darrin; 2012-11-18 at 11:21 AM.
Handbooks:
Shax's Indispensable Haversack, TWF OffHandbook
Builds:
Archon of Nine, Jellobomber, King of Pong, Lightning Thief
Spells:
Druidzilla, Healbot, Gish
Iron Chef:
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2012-11-18, 11:08 AM (ISO 8601)Ogre in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2007
- Location
- Stillwater
- Gender
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
*cue new standards for submission guidelines* Originally Posted by Piggy Knowles
I've got ideas for 2 of the 7 myself, just based on reading the questions earlier in the thread. For that reason, I was thinking we ought to PM questions to the chairman, rather than post them here.
That, sir, is classy. Anyone can make a bad PrC entry. You have done it with some style. Originally Posted by Amechra
Good, so now we have 3 judges, is that right? Originally Posted by Darrin
Mmm, and now you're making me think Able Learner Factotum 1/Warblade 5/RMM 1/Ur-Priest 2/RMM +9/something, and I just finished putting all that work into the build I submitted!Last edited by rockdeworld; 2012-11-18 at 11:16 AM.
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2012-11-18, 11:13 AM (ISO 8601)Troll in the Playground
- Join Date
- Jul 2007
- Location
- Bellona
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
I thought about it, and also about Spellcarved Soldier, but abandoned both pretty quickly because I was sure someone else would go that route. Anyhow, I didn't have a full build idea for either... Originally Posted by Kelb_Panthera
And Amechra, that build does hurt... but I love it! Can there be a "shooting the moon" option in IC contests?Optimization Showcase in the Playground
Former projects:
Shadowcaster Handbook
Archer Build Compendium
Iron Chef Awards!
Spoiler
GOLD
IC LXXVI: Talos
IC LXXV: Alphonse Louise Constant
IC XLIX: Babalon, Queen of Bones
IC XLV: Dead Mists
IC XL: Lycus Blackbeak
IC XXXIX: AM-1468
IC XXXV: Parsifal the Fool
IC XXX: Jal Filius
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2012-11-18, 12:02 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
- Join Date
- Sep 2009
- Location
- Runite
- Gender
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
The build I was planning to enter was Lesser Aasimar Ranger 1/Duskblade 2/Paladin 2/ Cyran Avenger 1/Suel Arcanamach 1/ Renegade Mastermaker 10/ Cyran Avenger +3. But in the end I couldn't make all the pre-requisites work and I didn't had time to start from scratch, though I did toy with an artificer 5/Renegade Mastermaker 10/ Cyran Avenger 5.
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2012-11-18, 12:32 PM (ISO 8601)Ettin in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2010
- Location
- Where I live.
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
Just out of curiosity, did Vknight post his judging criteria?
Because it looks to me like he scored everything on just how he felt about the fluff.If you see me try to discuss the nitty-gritty of D&D 5e, kindly point me to my signature and remind me that I shouldn't. Please and thank you! Originally Posted by segtrfyhtfgj
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2012-11-18, 12:51 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
- Join Date
- Feb 2011
- Location
- Texas
- Gender
Re: Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX
to avoid another green star adept, let's go ahead and resolve disputes about judging through PMs. here are his criteria, so you can compare them to the end result: Originally Posted by Amechra
Originally Posted by Vknight
I've got a new fantasy TTRPG about running your own fencing school in a 3 musketeers pastiche setting. Book coming soon.
Check out my NEW sci-fi TTRPG about first contact. Cool alien races, murderous AIs, and more. New expansion featuring rules for ships! New book here NOW!
Iron Chef Medals! Originally Posted by weckar
Amazing Princess Mononoke avatar by Dispozition
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